2006年VOA标准英语-'Ripley's Believe It or Not!' Museum Displays t

By Cheng Xiaohong
Orlando, Florida
31 October 2006
 
watch Believe It or Not report

The world is full of many strange and bizarre things.  "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" Odditorium in Orlando, in the southeastern state of Florida, houses many such things and offers visitors experiences almost too incredible to believe.  VOA's Elaine Lu narrates¹ the story.

Some things you have to see to believe and that is one reason tourists flock to the 29 "Ripley's Believe it or Not" museums around the world.

 
Robert Ripley
Robert Ripley started the collection of weird² and bizarre things in the early 20th century.  He started sharing his collection in a newspaper comic strip in 1929 featuring the incredible stories he discovered traveling around the world.   Over the years his cartoon was translated into 17 languages and was read by 80 million people, 

The idea of a museum took root when his collections were displayed at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.  In the following years Ripley's museums sprang up one after another.

Joe Kasinski is the Director of Marketing³ at "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" Orlando Odditorium. "This museum in Orlando opened in 1992, so we have been here for about 14 years now. It is actually more than a museum; we call it (an) Odditorium, which is a term Robert Ripley himself came up with, because everything is odd, bizarre, and unusual.

 
Museum exhibit
Visitors are welcomed to the museum by Ripley sitting behind his desk. Of course this is just an illusion, a reminder⁴ that many more of them are to come.   

Edward Myer is the Vice⁵ President of Exhibits and Archives at "Ripley's". "Many of the items you see here behind me are the things that Mr. Ripley had at his home, personal items, collected from all the countries around the world.  [A] Buddha⁶ from China, [a] wood carving⁷ from Japan, [a] genuine ancestry⁸ scull from New Guinea.  Above me is a large column of books, representing the hundreds of thousands of copies of books that Ripley had sold since his first item in 1929.

Optical illusions at the museum can really twist reality for visitors.

 
British man with a 17-centimeter long nose
"If you look at the things on (the) wall, they are all drawn⁹ by Mr. Ripley. They challenge you, your eyes perceive the truth. We have two circles. One on the left appears to be considerably¹⁰ bigger than the one on the right. But believe it or not, the circles are the same diameter."

And there are other illusions - a diamond for the taking.

A billiard table that defies gravity

"Here we are in the billiards¹¹ room. Every millionaire in the 1930s had to have his own billiards room, but of course Ripley's is just a little different from everybody else's.   Here we defy gravity. No matter where I put the ball on this table, whether I do it slow or fast, somehow it will climb up the hill and end up in the far pocket." 

Myer says every visitor comes up with his or her own theory of the billiard table. "Well, most people believe it is a magnet. But I assure you that is not it. It is strictly¹² an optical illusion. What you think is happening is not what is really happening. "

 
Two-headed calf¹³ exhibit
There are many other bizarre and unusual things in the collection: A two-headed calf, a headless chicken, a man from China with lit candles on his head and a British man with a 17-centimeter-long nose. Meyer shares another oddity.

"Behind me, the world largest matchstick model, believe it or not, this is 1907 Rolls Royce made from one million matchsticks. [The] lights actually work, [the] wheels really turn. "

And there are more. Mona Lisa's mysterious smile made out of toast.

Lincoln's portrait made of pennies. The gigantic portrait of Van Gogh made from 3,000 postcards depicting¹⁴ 115 Van Gogh paintings and drawings.

Meyer says of all the places Ripley visited, China held a special spot for Ripley. 

"Ripley's favorite country is always China. He returned there four times in his career, and brought back hundreds of oriental artifacts, [and] filled his three mansions¹⁵ with [them]. Behind me is one of the largest pieces in our collection.  [A] replica¹⁶ of China's emperor's rickshaw. Completely carved with solid jade¹⁷, worth millions of dollars. This is probably [the most] expensive piece in the entire Ripley collection. 

The self-guided museum tour finishes with a dizzy exit through a revolving¹⁸ hall, but again, as the museum reminds you over and over, this is an illusion.  What revolves¹⁹ is the wall, not the ground under visitors' feet.  Believe it or not.

1 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

2 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

7 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

8 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

9 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

10 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

11 billiards   

n.台球

参考例句：

• John used to divert himself with billiards.约翰过去总打台球自娱。
• Billiards isn't popular in here.这里不流行台球。

12 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

13 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

14 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

15 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

16 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

17 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

18 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

19 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》